Ghent: A Pleasant Surprise!
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Once deciding to head to Ghent ( knowing nothing about this city) rather than going to Brussels (another busy city like Amsterdam), we woke up early in Bruges and headed to the train station. It's about a 25 minute walk from the hostel to Bruge Centraal. While we wandered and weaved through the hauntingly beautiful cobbled streets we were accompanied by the meditating sounds of the many churches and bell towers surrounding us in Bruges. I can't really call them streets; Bruges is more like a maze of exciting alley ways where you're unsure where the sidewalk ends and the street begins. It being Sunday, naturally all the bells were harmonizing and singing a song of their own, blissfully paired with the crisp morning air of a fall day in Bruges. It helped put our heads in a good place to venture off on a new leg of our journey.
We caught our train on time and after about a half-hour of easy travel we arrived at our destination- the station of Ghent St-Peiters. The feeling Ghent greeted us with was not the same as we had experienced while meeting Bruges. It was a more distant and cold 'hello'. Neither of us mentioned our first impressions to each other, thinking we made a mistake. Instead, we locked eyes and with a secure nod and shrug notioned, "Let's do this" and we knew we were on the same page.
Our overall walk from the station to the hostel was about half an hour, maybe just a hair over. But 10-15 minutes later our feelings of being in the wrong place only grew stronger. The streets were barren and somewhat dirty, the buildings had a cold city feel, and the sites and sounds of construction made themselves very present. Again we looked at each other with a confused smirk on our faces, wondering what all the talk was about. As in any situation in life you should be patient and open, and that is what we were. We forged on, hoping we would turn a corner and feel welcomed and comfortable in our surroundings.
Finally, right at the very end of our walk things shaped up. We came to a canal and followed it to a beautiful cathedral- Sint Michielskerk. With smiles on our faces we rounded the bend to find Uppelink, our hostile right in the middle of it all. We found what we thought we were going to find: another small, stunning midevil city. Our hostel was situated in the third oldest building in Ghent- it was spectacular and very comfortable inside, and it's location could not have been more prime. The staff were very welcoming as were other travelers, anxious to talk and share stories.
The reason we felt a bit odd at first is because we came from Bruges, a city where modern architecture isn't allowed in order to keep its historical beauty and significance. Ghent is a progressing city where it has expanded beyond its medieval roots. The city has kept its old architecture in its heart as a way to attract tourists, but Ghent is so much more than a tourist attraction. As the title suggests, we were pleasantly surprised!
Ghent was the first place that we were able to find a place to hear some great live and local music. I'm getting a head of myself here. Back to our arrival. Like I said we found our hostel, we checked in but were not able to get into our room until 3 so we locked our luggage up and set out. We knew we had two days here and it is a small city so we reckoned we could explore it in full on our second day. With that decided, Em and I went for a walk to find a coffee shop with free wifi we could exploit so that we could sit down and do some writing. After a couple tries at some places with questionable Internet we settled for a Starbucks (super lame, we know, but the wifi was strong).
Em typed away and I sketched the continuous line of old gabled roofs that I could see out the window. The architectural detail of these old buildings blows me away. Every one is art. The builders were truly masters of their trade. After a bit we realized it was time to check into our room, a 6 Bed overlooking the canal and Sint Niklaas cathedral.
A beautiful 17th century feat of architecture, which is still undergoing renovations as it has for the last 50 years- it was in bad shape and the mayor wanted to tear it down for parking lots!! Thankfully this didn't happen, for it would have been a shame to erase such a monument off the earth . We set out into a beautiful evening and had a quick lunch/dinner sitting on the canal, sharing some of our meal with the ducks floating by. Parched from our travels we stopped into an old 13th century building that was used as a leprosy shelter, now a bar. Devoted to finding some live music, we moved on after a drink.
We heard about a place that on Sundays features two local brothers playing with different musicians. Hot Club De Gand. Searching high and low we finally found it tucked down a very narrow alley- not even big enough to walk side by side. When we rounded the corner into the courtyard we again were 'pleasantly surprised'. With a name like "Hot Club" we were unsure of what we might find. Red worn walls, dark stained bar, dim lighting and candles melting on every worn wood table, the tight cozy quarters were perfect for us. Ready to stay in one place for a while we soaked up the atmosphere for a few hours enjoying rounds of Belgian beer for me and wine for Em, journaling in the perfect writer's scene and having pleasant conversation until the act started. A local couple joined us at our table and explained to us the story of the two brothers, we were very happy sitting there listening to them play sounds of jazz to a room with max capacity 45 bursting at the seams.
Later that night back at the hostel in the lounge area, we met a hand-full of new friends and travelers, two girls from Macedonia captivated our attention for the rest of the night- we shared conversation and laughs over drinks after going back out. Feeling like locals telling them, "we know a great spot," we took them back to the jazz bar, "Hot Club De Gand". We talked of their home land, while they encouraged us to visit. Very interested and intrigued, Em and I took all of their information down so that in the future we can work our way to Macedonia. I'd like to say we turned in around 11 or 12- we called it an early night with the idea of getting up and at it early the next morning.
We achieved that goal, and after a quick free breakfast (compliments of the hostel) we found our way to the Belfort. Many people mistake this building for a church with its tall bell tower and cathedral-like appearance. In fact, it is a typical Flemish watchtower. It was a symbol of power in the middle ages. The city's chapters were kept in the belfry and the bell "klokke Roeland" was what controlled and regulated daily life. We climbed its 256 steps to the top for a panoramic view of the city, along the way stopping in rooms and chambers to learn some history.
From atop the belfry I spotted what looked to be an old castle and Em knew that (by my excitement) we had to go there next. With so much amazing architecture and art to see in Ghent, like the castel Gravensteen, known as the the Castle of Counts in the 12th century, and St. Baafskathedraal which houses the Ghent Altarpiece of 1432, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Commissioned to Hubert van Eyck, but after his death completed by his brother Jan van Eyck, it's 12 elaborately painted front and back panels are something to see, with one of its stolen panels still being one of the biggest mysteries in Gents history, we knew we had to pace our selves.
After a long stent of elaborate sight-seeing of all of Gent's treasures we knew it was time to put some food in our stomachs. Running low on cash we grabbed a delicious sandwich to share (the bread is so good everywhere and really makes the sandwich). We also heard of a traditional candy-like snack that we wanted to try called Cuberdon. There are two street vendor carts you will find in Gent that have a very strong rivalry going on. Situated side by side, be careful which one you choose, or pick both to make them to make both happy. Cuberdon's have a hard gummy like exterior in a cone shape and when you bight in you're not sure what your going to find. It turns out it is like a thick jelly.
Disappointed at the flavor we got we weren't head over heals for them but they are so worth a try! Just a little too much sugar for me. Being satisfied that we had cultured ourselves with Gent's rich history we passed time journaling all of our new knowledge and feelings to later find ourselves back at Hot Club de Gand for another epic set of live music. We had a wonderful stay in Gent and recommend it highly. So if you are in Belgium please don't overlook this city!
